Stop motion mechanism for narrow fabric looms



8" 1951 w. PRUITT STOP MOTION MECHANISM FOR NARROW FABRIC LOOMS Filed Dec. 30, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WILL/5 PRU/T7".

A TTORNE 7f Aug. 21, 1951 w. PRU lTT 2,565,043

STOP MOTION MECHANISM FOR NARROW FABRIC LOOMS Filed Dec. 30, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TO WALL SWITCH iTTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 21, 1951 STOP MOTION MECHANISM FOR NARROW FABRIC LOOMS Willis Pruitt, Attalla, Ala., assignor to Lawrence Products Company, Inc., Attalla, Ala., a corporation of Alabama Application December 30, 1949, Serial No. 136,044

Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to means for automatically stopping narrow fabric looms before the filling or weft thread is completely exhausted, and more particularly to an improvement over the structure disclosed in my prior Patent 2,456,021 issued December 14, 1948.

The primary object of this invention is to provide reliable, efficient, automatic means for stopping a narrow fabric loom before the weft thread is exhausted to thereby eliminate the danger of broken picks or weft threads, and thus prevent unevenness in the fabric and provide a more perfect product.

The continuation of the running of a loom with an empty shuttle causes damage to, or imperfections in, the woven fabric, and also causes loss or waste of yarn. In narrow fabric 1 looms, such as those provided for weaving ribbon, a series of shuttles are simultaneously operated to produce a plurality of ribbons or other narrow fabrics, thus making observation of the exhaustion of the yarn on the bobbins in the shuttles more difficult.

It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide electrical stopping means for narrow fabric looms enabling the machine to stop automatically as soon as the weft thread in one of the shuttles is near exhaustion.

Another object of this invention is to provide the shuttle with a metal quill, so that, when the yarn on the quill has about reached its state of exhaustion, electrical contact may be established between the quill and contacting means carried by the breast beam and intermittently engaging contacts on the shuttle, as the shuttle is reciprocated with the batten, to close an electric circuit controlling the starting mechanism of the loom.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide such automatic stopping means for narrow fabric looms in which the stopping mechanism is made up of a minimum of movable parts and may be adapted to the looms now in use without requiring substantial modification or change thereof.

These and other objects and certain advantageous features are accomplished by the novel and practical construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter disclosed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, constituting an essential part of the disclosure, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a shuttle constructed according to this invention, and showing the contacts which are mounted upon the breast beam of the loom,

Figure 2 is an end view of the shuttle illustrated in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the shuttle illustrated in Figure 1, with the portion of the breast beam disposed in front of the shuttle cut away,

Figure 4 is a side view of the contact supporting bracket secured to the breast beam, with the front edge of the shuttle shown in fragmentary form,

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the loom, embodying this invention, showing the relationship between the various essential parts, including one shuttle and an empty shuttle position, and

Figure 6 is an electrical diagram including a modified form of quill contact finger.

In the conventional narrow fabric loom a plurality of shuttles are simultaneously operated to produce a plurality of ribbons or other narrow fabrics. Only part of such a machine is shown in the drawings, covering only the essential parts of this invention.

Referring initially to Figure 5, a conventional narrow fabric loom is there illustrated, having the batten [5, to which are secured the supports l6 for the upper and lower shuttle blocks I1. The shuttle I8 is guided within the shuttle blocks l1, and is moved by means of the gear rack I9 meshing with the pinions 20, in a manner more fully disclosed in my patent noted above. In any event, moving the rack H] in the direction of the arrow 2|, will cause the shuttle [8 to move to the direction of the arrow 22, these movements being then reversed, thus weaving the narrow fabric in the conventional manner. The rack I9 is reciprocated longitudinally by means of the strap 23 trained over the pulleys 24 and 25, which in turn are connected to a shuttle motion drive (not shown).

The warp threads W come from the warp beam 26, rotatably mounted on the framework of the machine, and are extended through the heddles, not shown, of the harnesses 2! and 28 which are reciprocated vertically in a conventional manner. After passing through the heddles of the harnesses 21 and 28, the warp threads W are extended through the reed 29 clamped to the batten l5, and hence forwardly over the take-up beam S. The batten'l5 is rocked forwardly and rearwardly with respect to the breast beam 30 by means of the connecting rod 3| pivotally secured by the bracket 32 to the batten l5 and also pivotally connected to the eccentric crank 33 of the rotatable crank shaft 34.

In the conventional operation of the loom illustrated in Figure 5, the shuttle I8, carrying the thread wound quill 3-5 moves forwardly and rearwardly in accordance with the movement of the batten i5 and also moves transversely reciprocatingly in accordance with the movement of the rack is, and in the shed formed between the two layers of V-formed intertwined warp between the two adjacent pairs of shuttle blocks H. During this transverse movement, the shuttle is slides along the shuttle block H, in which it is seen in Figure 5, through the warp shed across the warp threads and into the adjacent shuttle block I? which is shown in an empty condition in the illustration A layer of warp threads car ried by one gang of heddles (not shown) on one harness 2'! is then moved with the latter relative to the layer of warp threads carried by the heddles (not shown) on the other harness 28, one layer of warp threads meshing with the other layer of warp threads, and holding the weft thread T wound on the quill 35 and carried across by the shuttle 18, between the threads of the layers. The shuttle 18 then reverses in direction and returns to the original shuttle holder laying another weft across the forming fabric F, the direction of movements of the harnesses 21 as being reversed. This operation, described above, is conventional in narrow fabric looms.

The shuttle l8, of this invention is similar to that set forth in my prior Patent No. 2,456,021, with the exception of the means provided for establishing electrical contact for stopping the loom. The shuttle I8 is provided with an electrically conducting metal quill 35, which is rotatably supported on the quill shaft 36. The pposite ends of the quill shaft 36 are carried within the metallic electrically conducting bushings 3i and 38. The contacting lever 39 is rockably mounted at one end within the metallic bushing 4c embedded within the shuttle frame. The other end of the lever 39 is formed with a looped member 4| for engagement with the surface of the metal quill 35. A cantilever resilient spring member 42 has one end 43 thereof embedded within the shuttle frame, and is formed with a hook 44 at the other end for engagement with the lever 39. As can be seen in Figure 1, the resilient spring member 42 constantly urges the lever 35 to rock towards the quill 35. A pair of spaced apart metal staples are driven into the forward end of the shuttle frame l8 and are indicated by the numerals 45 and 46. The staples and :6 are provided each with an elongated leg 4? and 38 respectively which extend through the heddle frame for attachment to electrical conductors. The electrical conductor 49, embedded within the shuttle frame, is electrically connected at its opposite ends to the bushing 3? and the leg 4? of the staple 45. The electrical conductor Eli, similarly embedded within the shuttle frame, is connected at its opposite ends to the bushing 45 and the leg 48 of the staple S. Brackets 5!, having bifurcations 52 and 53 on the lower end thereof, are secured to the breast beam 30 of the loom in positions confronting each of the shuttle supports or holders H. The set screw 54, threadably engaging through the bifurcation 53, bears against the breast beam for retaining the bracket 5| in its selected position. Each bracket, as seen in detail in Figure 4, includes an upstanding portion 55 having a bore 55 formed through the top thereof. A contact supporting rod 5! is slidably disposed within the bore 56, and is engaged by the set screw 58 4 so as to be held in selected position relative to the bracket 5|. The supporting rod 5! extends rearwardly towards the reciprocatable batten l5, and an insulating block 58 extends transversely of the rear end of the rod 51 and is secured to the threaded reduced diameter extension 60 of the rod by the nut GI threaded thereon. Resilient contact fingers 62 and 53 depend from each of the opposite ends of the rear face of the insulating block 59, and are secured to the latter by the fastening means 64 and 85 respectively.

Electrical conductors E5 and El are connected to the resilient spring fingers 52 and 53 respectively by attachment to the fastening means t and 65. A seen in Figure 5, the con-ductor 66 connects through the transformer 58 and the conductor 65a to on terminal of the electromagnet 69 of a relay iii. The other conductor 6% is connected to the other terminal of the electromagnet 69. The auxiliary contact ll of the relay i3 is connected to one terminal of a magnetic starter 12 by the wire it. The wire i i connects another terminal of the magnetic starter 12 to the pivoted arm 15 of the relay HQ. The conductor l3 and 'M connect with the motor leads it through the magnetic starter E2. The relay and magnetic starter set forth above are conventional.

The transverse movement of the shuttle E3 is so coordinated with the forward and rearward movement of the batten [5 as to dispose the shuttle in either one of the shuttle holders [7 when the batten is in its full forward position. As seen in Figure 5, when the batten is in its full forward position the staples 45 and 16 carried by the shuttle 48 will engage the contact fingers E2 and 62. If the thread T on the quill '55 in the shuttle is used up to such an extent that the looped portion 5 l of the lever 39 engages the bare metal surface of the quill 35, then a closed elec trical circuit will be established through the electromagnet E9, the conductor 6i, the contact finger 53, the staple 1 5, the wire '59, the bushing 31, the quill 35, the lever 39, the bushing 40, the wire 5%, the staple M5, the resilient contact finger 62, and

,- the conductor 56, the transformer 68, and the conductor 66a back to the electromagnet 6E. The electromagnet 69 will thereby be energized, causing the switch arm '55 to be attracted and moved away from the auxiliary contact H of the relay, thus breaking the motor circuit controlled by the magnetic starter 72. After th quill 35 has been replenished with thread, the machine is again started in a conventional manner.

Although it is preferable to employ a pair of resilient contact fingers, such as 52 and 63 to indicate when another full quill is required, one contact finger may be employed by grounding the metal quill, or the contacting lever 5 to the frame structure of the machine, and also grounding one of the terminals of the electromagnet 69 of the relay H3. Figure 6 shows such a modified arrangement. In this latter case, the spring pressed contacting lever 39cc, engageable with the quill 35a within the shuttle 18a is connected to ground by the conductor 56c and the quill 35a is connected to the single contact staple by a conductor 49a. The conductor 661) extends from one terminal of the electromagnet 68a of the relay lfla to ground, and the single contact finger 63a is connected to the transformer 68a by the conductor 61a. As in the first embodiment, the relay 's'Qa controls the energizaticn of the motor operating the loom through the magnetic starter 12a.

The arrangement set forth for providing an automatic stopping device is adapted to single and double decker battens, that is, looms in which several superimposed layers of shuttles are provided. I have illustrated in broken lines in Figure 4, the manner in which the structure may be modified to accommodate such double rows of shuttles. In this latter situation th top ends of the contacting fingers 62 will be extended upwardly as at 62 for engagement with the staples carried by the upper row of shuttles l8.

From the above description it can readily be seen that I have provided automatic electrical means for stopping a loom of the type described when the thread on the quills have been exhausted and in which the movable parts are kept at a minimum to thereby minimize wear and provide for extended trouble free service. It is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the specific structure described without departin from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. On a narrow fabric loom having electrical starting and stopping means and including a breast beam, a batten movable toward and away from said breast beam and a shuttle mounted for reciprocation laterally on said batten; stop motion comprising an electrically. conducting quill member upon which weft thread may be wound and carried by said shuttle, an electrically conducting rockable member on said shuttle constantly urged towards engagement with said quill member, contact means on said shuttle connected in series with said quill member and said rockable member. second contact means carried by said breast beam of the loom and adapted to electrically engage said first contact means when the shuttle is carried by said batten to the foremost position thereof, and means connecting said second contact means with said electrical starting and stopping means whereby an electrical circuit will be closed through said quill member, said rockable member, said first and second contact means, and said last mentioned means when the weft thread on said quill member is exhausted to permit electrical contact between said rockable member and said quill member.

2. On a narrow fabric loom having electrical starting and stopping means and including a breast beam, a batten movable toward and away from said breast beam and a shuttle mounted for reciprocation laterally on said batten; stop motion comprising an electrically conducting quill carried by said shuttle and upon which weft thread may be wound, a rockable electrically conducting lever carried by said, shuttle and spring urged towards said quill for electrical contact with the latter when the weft thread is exhausted, first contact means on said shuttle electrically connected in the circuit formed when said quill and lever are in electrical contact, second contact means carried by said breast beam of the loom and engaging said first contact means when said shuttle is carried by said batten to the foremost position, and conducting means connecting said second contact means with said electrical starting and stopping means.

3. On a narrow fabric loom having electrical starting and stopping means and including a breast beam, a batten movable toward and away from said breast beam and a shuttle mounted for reciprocation laterally on said batten; stop motion comprising an electrically conducting quill carried by said shuttle, means on said shuttle 6. adapted to electrically contact said quill when the weft thread on the latter is exhausted, a pair of contact members on said shuttle electrically connected to said quill and said last named means,

a second pair of contact members carried by said breast beam of the loom and adapted to intermittently engage said first pair of contact members, and conductors extending between said second pair of contact members and said electrical starting and stopping means.

4. On a narrow fabric loom having electrical starting and stopping means and including a breast beam, a batten movable toward and away from said breast beam and a shuttle mounted for reciprocation laterally on said batten; stop motion comprising an electrically conducting quill upon which weft thread may be wound and carried by said shuttle, means on said shuttle electrically contacting said quill when the thread on the latter is exhausted, contact means on said shuttle and on said breast beam of the loom adapted to electrically engage when the shuttle is carried by the batten to the foremost position thereof, means electrically connecting said quill and said means on said shuttle to said contact means on said shuttle, and means electrically connecting said contact means on said breast beam to said starting and stopping means.

5. Stop motion according to claim 4, wherein said means on said shuttle electrically contacting said quill when the thread on the latter is exhausted includes a lever having one end rockably carried by the shuttle and a portion on the other end engageable with the center of said quill, and spring means carried by said shuttle and engaging said lever urging said portion against said quill.

6. Stop motion according to claim 4, wherein said contact means on said shuttle includes a pair of spaced apart staples having portions thereof projecting from the forward end of the shuttle for contact with the contact means on the breast beam.

'7. On a narrow fabric loom having electrical starting and stopping means and including a breast beam, a batten movable toward and away from said breast beam and a shuttle mounted for reciprocation laterally on said batten; stop motion comprising an electrically conducting quill carried by said shuttle and upon which weft thread may be wound, a contact lever rockably carried by said shuttle, spring means constantly urging said lever towards said quill whereby said lever will electrically contact said quill when the thread on the latter is exhausted, a pair of spaced apart contact members carried by the forward end of said shuttle, electrical connecting means extending between said quill and one of said contact members and between said lever and the other of said contact members, a contact support secured to said breast beam of the loom, a pair of spaced apart contact members carried by said support and adapted to engage said contact members on said shuttle when said batten is disposed in the foremost position thereof, and electrical connecting means extending between said latter pair of contact members and said electrical starting and stopping means.

8. Stop motion according to claim '7, wherein said contact support includes an upstanding member, a rod slidably carried adjacent the top of said member and movable in the direction of the reciprocation of the batten, an insulating block fixed to the rear end of said rod and extending transversely thereof, said block carrying said secand pair of contact members at the opposite ends thereof.

9. On a narrow fabric loom having a magnetic starter provided with a relay and including a forwardly and rearwardly moving batten and a shuttle mounted for lateral reciprocation on the latter; stop motion comprising an electrically conducting quill upon which weft thread may be wound, said quill being carried by said shuttle mounted on the batten, a rockable contact lever carried by the shuttle and constantly urged towards said quill for establishing electrical contact with the latter when the Weft thread is exhausted, electrical conducting means connecting said quill to one side of said relay and said contact lever to the other side of said relay when said batten is disposed in the foremost position thereof, and a transformer interposed in said conducting means for energizing said relay.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 384,934 Rush et al June 19, 1888 2,456,021 Pruitt Dec. 14, 1948 

